Auxillary Air Valve not working

bd1308 · 01-14-2005, 06:32 AM

howdy folks...I've learned that 914s were supposed to pop up to ~2000 UPM upon start-up and the little bugger responsible for that is the auxillary air valve....i have hear of people rebuilding these but I was wondering if it was worth it....right now i have to adjust the idle to around 1200 for it to start dead cold without much hassle....are these worth rebuilding, and where does this connect to anyway? (I would look but its 40 degrees outside in Bowling Green)

jamcleod · jamcleod's Garage

it's worth rebuilding to keep from having to bump up the cold idle as you are doing. it's worth rebuilding as new AAR's are NLA. it's hard but possible to rebuild, look for past posts or tech article on this site. they "usually" rust up. the AAR is a "controlled air leak" past the throttle body and is located under/near the intake air distributor.

bd1308 · 01-14-2005, 07:18 AM

right....i knew that one and i ffigured it would be hard. I don't know. Summer job though definately

bd1308 · 01-14-2005, 08:46 AM

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7946784701&category=33553 would this be the one I am looking for

Bleyseng · Bleyseng's Garage

No, thats for a 1.8l with Ljet.

jamcleod · jamcleod's Garage

basically, the AAR closes up in about 5 minutes, so unless yours is stuck OPEN (cold=open; hot=closed), maybe you could work the gas pedal until the engine is warmed up a little and get to it in the spring.

go to 3rd pix here:

http://www.pelicanparts.com/914/technical_specs/914_20FI_diag.htm

where DD shows AAR

bd1308 · 12:41 PM

right....thats what i was thinking. Doesnt feel too good out there to do major work on a car(BRAIN FART) when its real cold in BG

Dave at Pelican Parts · Dave at Pelican Parts's Garage

What it hooks up to:

One hose to the manifold. One hose to the air cleaner. As mentioned, the AAR lets air bypass the throttle when the engine is cold.

The electric wire going into the bottom of the AAR connects to the relay board; it hoos into the same circuit that powers the fuel pump.

--DD

bd1308 · 01-14-2005, 12:56 PM

so wait...dave whats the wire do? With my luck it is disconnected (like the rest of the car when we first got it) and then that would be the reason why it doesnt work. Is the wire carrying +12V by any chance?

bd1308 · 01-14-2005, 12:57 PM

i found a loose wire that was hitting the sheet metal and arching....looked scary at night while i was timing the car... scred the *(%& out of me if you know what i mean.

Dave at Pelican Parts · Dave at Pelican Parts's Garage

The wire carries +12V to the heating element in the AAR. The heating element causes the valve in the AAR to close after ~5-10 minutes of driving. If the heating element does not work, the valve will still close from engine heat, but it will take more like 15-30 minutes.

--DD

bd1308 · 01-14-2005, 01:01 PM

oh....i see. Well file that one under summer activity!

elwood-914 · 01-14-2005, 05:00 PM

Mine was a bit clogged. Brad Roberts recomended me spraying PB Blaster into the valve. Works now.

BKOMAR · BKOMAR's Garage

Its been a while, but as I remember, I pried mine open and cleaned it all up and made sure the mechanism slid well then pieced it back together. It had little bits of charred stuff inside it along with dirt and crud. I had a wildly high idle for a long time and that was the culprit. It was allowing too much air in as it was stuck open. I didn't think it was all that hard to do... well worth the effort. Brian